Scampi Stuffed Shrimp

This shrimp recipe was something we made for our Tapas Night!  We found these amazingly large shrimp at a new grocery store the other day and have been looking for an awesome recipe that would do the shrimp justice.  So rather than cooking them with pasta, or making shrimp cocktail, I thought of stuffing the shrimp! 

Now, I've never done this before, but it was actually very easy.  And the end product was delicious!  I found this recipe at Can You Stay for Dinner?, and adapted it slightly.  The most time-consuming part is cleaning the shrimp, which is usually somewhat of a struggle for me.  But after that, it was a piece of cake! 



Ingredients:

For the filling:
5-6 medium or large shrimp, peeled, deveined and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers
1/4 cup finely diced celery
salt and pepper

Remaining ingredients:
16 jumbo shrimp - peeled, deveined, and butterflied
Cooking spray
Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Make the shrimp filling: 
Peel, devein, and finely chop 5-6 medium or large-sized shrimp. You want the pieces very small so that they blend well with other filling ingredients.  Mix the shrimp with panko bread crumbs.  Add parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, yogurt, red peppers, and celery. Stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the jumbo sized shrimp for stuffing:
These, too, should be peeled and deveined, but be sure to leave the tails on for presentation. Butterfly them by running a sharp knife along that curved indentation that runs down the backsides of the shrimp. You’re not cutting all the way through, just far enough in so that you can open and spread the bottom of the shrimp out into a wide circle.  You want the tail end to stick up and arc over. The cut side should be split and facing down on your cutting board, almost creating a little lap for the filling. Place these prepared shrimp on a baking sheet or dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray

Now take tablespoons of the filling mixture and mound it onto the laps of the jumbo shrimp, pressing so that the mixture stays in one clump when you take your hand away. Repeat this process with all remaining shrimp and filling, laying each on the greased baking sheet. Spray the shrimp lightly with cooking spray and set the pan in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink.